Over 200 L.A. County Children Find Families on National Adoption Day

17th of November 2017

National Adoption Day was a joyous beginning for hundreds of families as over 200 L.A. County children were adopted. Five of these children were placed through the Trinity Youth Services Adoption Agency, which matches adoptive children with families who love and cherish them.

The Edmund D. Edelman Children’s Court buzzed with the energy of several hundred people including children, their new families, and lawyers who crowded the courthouse’s five floors. Many children were dressed to match their parents, with one father and his new son donning vivid red button downs and smart pinstripe pants and vests.

The atmosphere was festive, more like a gathering of long-lost relatives than a day in court. Several families waited just outside of the courtroom, lining the halls and chatting happily while waiting for their names to be called. Kids filled the air with screams of delight, playing with balloon animals and other gifts given to them by the courthouse, organizations, and new family members.

The Emotional Journey to Adoption

For many of the families, National Adoption day feels like the birth of a new child. Parents wait in nervous anticipation to find out if the child they’ve grown to love can join their family. And then, the moment comes when they step before a judge, swearing that they will care for their new child as their own. Finally, the judge pronounces the child united to their parents in the eyes of the law.

Waiting can be challenging, and can sometimes take years, but it is a necessary and important component of adoption. Time allows for the adoptive family and their new child to create strong bonds, and for the child’s biological family to think long and hard before the adoption. Emotions run high for both biological and adoptive parents during this time.

For more on what adoptive parents experience, look for our next blog: How a Mother Feels.

Trinity Youth Services supports foster and adoptive parents throughout their experiences. To find out more about foster care or adoption, click here.